More than 400 Cambo TDG factory workers in Kampot yesterday protested outside the Korean-owned firm, demanding that 21 workers be rehired after their contracts expired.

Sithy Net, deputy secretary of the Cambodian Textile & Garment Workers’ Federation, said the company let go of the employees – 19 of them women – last Thursday.

He said most of them had been on three-month contracts despite having worked at the company for more than two years.

“The company claimed that it didn’t have much work … and wanted to reduce the number of workers, but the company announced today that it’s recruiting new workers,” he said. “They are old workers; why doesn’t the company recruit them? They have experience.”

The company paid the workers their final paycheck, but some of them still have yet to receive other exit benefits required by law, Net said.

A company representative declined to answer questions yesterday.

Mai Lai, a worker, said the released employees had previously helped other workers demand benefits from the company. “We are afraid that more workers on a short-term contract will be let go,” she said.